This application claims priority under 35 U.S.C. xc2xa7119 to Japanese Patent Application No. 2000-092387 filed on Mar. 29, 2000, the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference.
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a system and method for disassembling and assembling a product.
2. Discussion of the Background
In recent years, environmental maintenance, i.e., recycling, has become an important part of manufacturing. For such products as copy machines, printers, etc., various recycle and reuse methods have been developed in order to save and effectively utilize resources.
A remanufactured machine is one example of the recycle and reuse of a used product. The remanufactured machine, also called a xe2x80x9csecond-handxe2x80x9d machine, is made by partially disassembling and cleaning the used product and minimally replacing used parts with new parts, then re-assembling the product. However, compared with a brand-new product, quality of the remanufactured machine is not guaranteed. As such, evaluation in the market is low and the cost benefit for remanufactured machines is small.
Therefore, in order for the remanufactured machine to be effectively utilized and placed on the market, thereby prompting increased production, the quality of the remanufactured machine needs to be guaranteed to the same extent that the quality of the brand-new product is. Then, the quality of the remanufactured machine would be guaranteed, evaluation in the market for the remanufactured machine would increase, and recycle and reuse would increase, thereby contributing to increased energy saving for manufacturing.
A system for producing the remanufactured machine is disclosed in the published specification of Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 11-239926, in which the system is described as providing a high-quality and reasonable device in a product recycle system for a product disassembling and assembling process. The system includes a disassembling line for disassembling the main body of the used product and taking out the used parts, an assembling line for assembling a new product, a first conveying device for supplying the used parts from the disassembling line to the assembling line, a storage section for storing new parts, a second conveying device for supplying the new parts from the storage section to the assembling line, and a control device for performing a control operation so as is supply the number of new parts from the storage section to the assembling line in accordance with the number of new products to be assembled and the number of used parts from the disassembling line to be used in the new products.
However, in this system, it is necessary to prepare the disassembling line for disassembling the used product and taking out the used parts and the assembling line for assembling the new product for simultaneous use. As such, the inputting robot, the conveying device, the disassembling robot, the checking device, and the accommodating device of this system are needed in both the disassembling line and the assembling line at the same time.
The published specification of Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 11-291135 discloses a system for automatically assembling and disassembling a product in which an automatic machine performs the disassembling and assembling, reusing the disassembled parts effectively. The system is described as flexibly coping with both the assembling and the disassembling without changing the direction of the manufacturing line. The system judges whether the process to be completed is assembling or disassembling based on the parts conveyed to the automatic machine. Based on the judgement, the system performs the automatic assembling of the parts and the automatic checking of the product or performs the automatic disassembling of the product and automatic checking of the disassembled parts. This automatic process is selectively practiced in order to determine the parts which can be used again.
However, in this system, in general, if the sequence for the assembling the product is parts axe2x86x92parts bxe2x86x92parts c, then the sequence for the disassembling the product is the reverse, part cxe2x86x92parts bxe2x86x92parts a. Therefore, assembling and disassembling the parts have to be performed in the same working section, and the toolings for assembling/disassembling may become inevitably complicated. Furthermore, since the judgement of what the process to be performed is made after conveying the parts to the automatic machine, the parts supplying device for assembling the parts and the parts withdrawing device after disassembling the product must always be prepared. As such, the line structures may become very complicated, resulting in a lower operation ratio.
In the future, withdrawing a used product from the market and reusing the used product may become the responsibility of the product manufacturer. If 100% of the used products are withdrawn, disassembled, and reused, the number of used products may become very large. As such, it is estimated that a very large specialized factory for disassembling the used products may be required. Therefore, there would be a large economic burden to the manufacturer for building the large specialized factory. In addition, the number of used products withdrawn from the market depends largely on the present economy and trends in the market. As such, the work load of the specialized factory varies, which could lead to uneffectiveness and a cost increase of the remanufactured machine. Consequently, increased recycle and reuse may not occur and the energy saving to the manufacturer may shrink or disappear.
Accordingly, one object of the present invention is to provide an improved product disassembling and assembling system and method.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a compact product disassembling and assembling system and method.
Still another object of the present invention is to provide a product disassembling and assembling system and method which reduces product manufacturing cost.
These and other objects are accomplished by a novel system and method for disassembling and assembling a product.
A first aspect of the present invention relates to a product disassembling and assembling system including a producing facility for performing a first process of producing the product and a processing facility for performing a second process of disassembling a used product and offering the unit or parts of the used product for producing the product after the unit or parts have been processed. The product disassembling and assembling system further includes a commonly-used process facility for practicing both the mutually reversible steps between the first and second processes and/or the same process for the first and second processes step.
In a second aspect of the present invention relating to the product disassembling and assembling system in connection with the first aspect, at least one commonly-used process facility is controlled by a computer. The product disassembling and assembling system further includes a changing-over device for changing over the program employed in the computer and the data employed in the program for the first and second processes.
In a third aspect of the present invention relating to the product disassembling and assembling system in connection with the second aspect, a plurality of commonly-used process facilities are controlled by the computer. The changing-over device performs in a gross a changing-over operation of the plurality of commonly-used process facilities.
In a fourth aspect of the present invention relating to the product disassembling and assembling system in connection with one of the first through third aspects, the commonly-used process facility is a main body assembling and disassembling system used for assembling the unit or parts constructing the product main body and for disassembling the used product into the unit or parts.
In a fifth aspect of the present invention relating to the product disassembling and assembling system in connection with one of the first through fourth aspects, the commonly-used process facility is a unit assembling and disassembling facility used for assembling the parts constructing the product main body and thereby producing the product main body and the unit constructing the product main body, and for disassembling the unit constructing the used product or the used product main body into the parts.
In a sixth aspect of the present invention relating to the product disassembling and assembling system in connection with one of the first through fifth aspects, the commonly-used process facility is a unit storage warehouse used for temporarily preserving a newly-made unit constructing the product main body employed for producing the product and temporarily preserving the unit of the used product after disassembling.
In a seventh aspect of the present invention relating to the product disassembling and assembling system in connection with one of the first through sixth aspects, the commonly-used process facility is a parts storage warehouse used for temporarily preserving newly-made parts constructing the product main body or the unit constructing the product main body employed for producing the product and for temporarily preserving the parts of the used product after disassembling.
In an eighth aspect of the present invention relating to the product disassembling and assembling system in connection with the fourth aspect, a second commonly-used process facility is a unit storage warehouse used for temporarily preserving a newly-made unit constructing the product main body employed for producing the product and for temporarily preserving the unit of the used product after disassembling. A third commonly-used process facility is a conveying device used for conveying the newly-made unit and/or the unit of the used product from the main body assembling and disassembling facility to the unit storage warehouse and conveying the newly-made unit and/or the unit of the used product from the unit storage warehouse to the main body assembling and disassembling facility.
In a ninth aspect of the present invention relating to the product disassembling and assembling system in connection with the fifth aspect, a second commonly-used process facility is a parts storage warehouse used for temporarily preserving newly-made parts constructing the product main body or the unit constructing the product main body employed for producing the product and for temporarily preserving the parts of the used product after disassembling. A third commonly-used process facility is a conveying device used for conveying the newly-made parts and/or the parts of the used product from the unit assembling and disassembling facility to the parts storage warehouse and for conveying the newly-made parts and/or the parts of the used product from the parts storage warehouse to the unit assembling and disassembling facility.
In a tenth aspect of the present invention relating to the product disassembling and assembling system in connection with one of the first through ninth aspects, the commonly-used process facility is a main body checking facility used for checking the product main body after producing the product and for checking the used product main body.
In an eleventh aspect of the present invention relating to the product disassembling and assembling system in connection with one of the first through tenth aspects, the commonly-used process facility is a unit checking facility used for checking the newly-made unit constructing the product main body employed for producing the product and for checking the unit of the used product after disassembling.
In a twelfth aspect of the present invention relating to the product disassembling and assembling system in connection with one of the first through eleventh aspects, the commonly-used process facility is a parts checking facility used for checking the parts constructing the product main body or the unit constructing the product main body employed for producing the product and for checking the parts of the used product after disassembling.
Thirteenth through twenty-fourth aspects of the present invention respectively relate to the method of disassembling and assembling the product corresponding to the first through twelfth aspects.